The Stop Button

Grantchester (2014) s09e01 “Episode 1” [2024] D: Katherine Churcher. S: Robson Green, Tom Brittney, Al Weaver, Tessa Peake-Jones, Kacey Ainsworth, Charlotte Ritchie, Bradley Hall. GRANTCHESTER makes no bones about the vicar change of the season. Brittney goes from not wanting a new job to everything in the latest case trying into an analogy. It must be fate. Or contracts. Green oscillates between seeming upset about change to obvious about it. It’s all well enough done, they’re just dragging out a lame duck.

Grantchester (2014) s09e02 “Episode 2” [2024] D: . S: Robson Green, Al Weaver, Tessa Peake-Jones, Kacey Ainsworth. Exit Brittney, who outlasted the lead he replaced. GRANTCHESTER just can’t have a married vicar as lead, which the episode unintentionally showcases. There’s so much history with Brittney’s character and the rest of the cast, the episode has to pick and choose who gets a proper farewell. There’s also a murder to keep things busier. It’s solid; Green’s fantastic.

Grantchester (2014) s09e03 “Episode 3” [2024] D: . S: Robson Green, Al Weaver, Tessa Peake-Jones, Kacey Ainsworth. Hot new vicar Nair comes to town and causes an immediate stir due to his skin color and Imperial origin. In other words, he’s of Indian descent and they’re all bigots. Ish. Meanwhile, Green is in need of a new vicar Watson and has to convince the new guy. It’s a pretty good intro, giving Nair a bunch too.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) s11e22 “September 8, 2024: School Lunch Programs” [2024] D: . S: John Oliver. Funny “news of the week” segments–Trump and Vance are such good punchlines (for now)–and then a great feature on universal school lunches. Oliver gets some real big applause for the controversial position of not letting kids go hungry. But then the dessert’s just forced (Halloween-related) blah. Also: they ought to make the talking Reagan action figure.

Only Murders in the Building (2021) s04e03 “Two for the Road” [2024] D: Chris Koch. S: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria. Excellent episode has the trio splitting up to hang out with their movie star counterparts. Longoria’s annoying Gomez, Levy’s fawning over Martin, and Galifinksnis can’t stand Short. They all go investigating together to some very, very funny results. Often involving the other guest stars, but the slightly off chemistry between the pairings is the key. Superb acting throughout.

Slow Horses (2022) s04e02 “A Stranger Comes to Town” [2024] D: Adam Randall. S: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas. It’s a particularly great episode for Scott Thomas and a decent or better one for everyone else. Oldman’s still early in the first act; Scott Thomas and Lowden are finishing it up. HORSES isn’t wasting any time tying the big arcs–they’re fused. And involve a big name guest star. Real good overall, if overly deliberate.

Tulsa King (2022) s02e01 “Back in the Saddle” [2024] D: Craig Zisk. S: Sylvester Stallone, Martin Starr, Jay Will, Max Casella, Domenick Lombardozzi, Garrett Hedlund, Dana Delany. The show immediately cops out of the cliffhanger with Stallone spending a night in jail before getting bail. He then spends the rest of the episode planning on going even more legit than he has been in the era of legal weed. It’s a middling episode and a bad season premiere. Some solid acting throughout; all very professional.